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There isn't really a "best" in pathfinder - every class has strengths and weaknesses. A few general rules of thumb for you, though:
-Full casters start out the weakest but at high levels are generally considered the strongest, particularly Wizard and Cleric.
-Amongst full BAB classes, Barbarian is probably the easiest to make into a DPR monster, and Monk the most difficult. However, that ignores a LOT of other factors, and doesn't say much about optimized builds.
-Rogues are often considered the "weakest" class, as they don't receive as many bonuses to hit and damage as most of the other melee classes. However, that speaks nothing about their out-of-combat abilities - Rogue Talents feature many capabilities found nowhere else in Pathfinder. A competently built Strength-based or Dervish Dance rogue can certainly compete with other classes for damage.
In general, asking for the "best" class will start a giant flame war. In fact, I fully expect to have been ninja'd by several such posts. Good luck with your campaign though!
PS: If you want specific help, you should probably list:
-the levels the game will see
-point buy & other building restrictions
-info on other party members
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Ooh, 25 point buy, nice. With a 25 point buy you should be able to make just about any class effective. When it comes to classes, some are SAD - Single Ability Dependent - and some are MAD - Multiple Ability Dependent. For example:
-Wizards are SAD - pump their Int up high enough and you're fine.
-Monks, on the other hand, are MAD - they need Strength to deal damage, Dex and Wis for AC, and Con to not die after two rounds of fighting.
-Paladins are in the middle - they want both Strength and Charisma as high as possible, and generally want a good Constitution, but since they can wear heavy armor and get Cha to saves they don't really need much Dex, Wis, or Int.
With 25 points, though, you can afford to pump multiple stats up to respectable levels. So the difference between a 10 point buy Barbarian & Monk is much bigger than the difference between a 25 point buy build of the same classes.
For a small group, it's generally important to make sure you cover 3 roles:
1. Casting
2. Fighting
3. Skills (including Party Face)
Most classes can take care of some combination of those. For a 4-man group including a bard, I would recommend these in the remaining slots:
-Sorcerer/Wizard/Witch - much casting, such arcane
-Cleric/Oracle - to patch you up and help with face-smashing
-Fighter/Barbarian/Ranger/Paladin/other full BAB class - to actually kill things
It doesn't matter too much, though, as long as you can cover those 3 roles. See if you can convince the Bard to go archer - human bards are quite good at it. Also, just about any full-casting class can do a great job just summoning monsters if you feel your front line is too empty, particularly if they take Augment Summoning... but I wouldn't recommend it unless the person doing so is an experienced player.
EDIT: As to Wizard vs. Sorcerer, they're pretty even in power; it comes down to personal preference/playstyle. Both get bonus feats and special abilities (arcane school/bloodline); wizards make great encyclopedias thanks to their Intelligence and knowledges, whereas sorcerers make great party faces thanks to their Charisma. In general, wizards require a lot more paperwork & forethought, but overall let you tailor your prepared spells to specific situations and get a more varied spellcasting experience.
How far are you going to go? A couple levels? Melee, like Barb would be great. A good long time? Wizards and Sorcerers are beast.
A Druid is pretty much the best of all worlds. You're a powerful caster and from level 5 onwards, a beast of a martial.
A Druid is pretty much the best of all worlds. You're a powerful caster and from level 5 onwards, a beast of a martial.
And can summon if you're still lacking people. I second the druid choice.